HMRC Publish IR35 Forum Minutes On Business Tests

Posted on March 30, 2012 by icsjonathan

HMRC have released the minutes of the last two IR35 Forum meeting, which cover the significant progress made regarding the proposed ‘business test’. Both of these meetings were attended by representatives from the key contractor and freelancer groups, including; the PCG, REC, FCSA and APSCo.

The IR35 business test was one of the three proposals put forward by the Office of Tax Simplification after their review last year, and this has continued to be one of the key discussions within the forum. The group have now confirmed that details of this business test will be finalized and published on the HMRC in April, and will be live on a trial basis. Continue reading →

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Employment Minister Continues Red Tape Review

Posted on March 28, 2012 by icsjonathan

Last week’s budget brought promises of reduced EU red tape as well as regulations impacting on employment and small businesses. As the UK looks towards growth and job creation, a commitment from the Government to cut down on the areas of red tape burdening SMEs has been welcomed.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has recently announced a review of areas of business regulation, particularly looking at how it is enforced. Mr Cable, speaking at the Federation of Small Businesses’ annual conference in Scarborough, said; Continue reading →

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North Sea Oil Workers Evacuated

Posted on March 27, 2012 by icsanna

A North Sea oil platform has been evacuated with a exclusion zone set up around it amid fears it is leaking gas and may explode.

The Elgin Total platform which stands 150 miles from the Aberdeen coast has had around 240 workers evacuated from it over the past two days. Shell have also removed 85 workers from its Shearwater platform and the nearby Noble Hans Deul drilling rig while the nearby leak is found and stopped, taking the total evacuated from the area to 323. Total have said that they do not know the cause of the leak but are taking ‘all possible measures’ to bring it under control. Continue reading →

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Budget IR35 Announcement Creating Uncertainty

Posted on March 23, 2012 by icsjonathan

Further to some of the general issues raised in this week’s budget, the future of IR35 took another twist following a number of announcements in the budget. After over a year of work from the IR35 Forum and Office of Tax Simplification, the government finally announced a simplification of the legislation.

The PCG noted that the government are looking to introduce measures to tackle avoidance through the use of personal service companies, and will also make the IR35 legislation easier to understand for those who are genuinely in business. Continue reading →

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Contractor Groups Respond To Budget 2012

Posted on March 23, 2012 by icsjonathan

This week’s budget raised the usual concerns about the government commitment to support UK jobs and growth, leading to a number of contractor groups responding, giving their thoughts on how contractors are likely to be affected.

The REC, who had called for the budget to support jobs, were pleased with aspects of the budget however they believe there were still areas for improvement. REC Chief Executive Kevin Green, said that “the Chancellor has taken solid steps in developing an internationally competitive tax regime in the UK to help kick start job growth. But it could have been bigger, bolder and braver, so I give this budget 6/10 for jobs.” Continue reading →

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RBS Set To Outsource Contractor Roles To India

Posted on March 21, 2012 by icsanna

The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced plans to shed around 500 jobs from its Private Banking Direct unit. This cull is likely to affect a number of IT contractors currently at the bank.

Affecting those working in its offices in Bristol, Farnborough, Wimbledon, Leeds, London and Edinburgh, it is expected that around 300 of the roles will be outsourced to India.

Lloyds Banking Group have also announced that over 500 UK jobs will be transferred to India, including 205 IT contractor roles. Continue reading →

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Budget Must Support Jobs And Growth

Posted on March 20, 2012 by icsjonathan

The latest unemployment figures revealed last week, have led to the REC repeating similar calls last year for tomorrow’s budget to be a ‘Budget for Jobs’. Unemployment rose in the last 3 months by 28,000, although it remained at 2.67 million according to the ONS.

Commenting on the figures last week, REC Chief Exec Kevin Green said that whilst unemployment is still rising, the rate of increase is slowing down, which is hopefully a signing of it bottoming out. He was also positive with the figures showing that the private sector creased 45,000 new positions in the last three months, offsetting 34,000 public sector job cuts. Continue reading →

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Chancellor Likely To Mention Limited Companies In Budget

Posted on March 20, 2012 by icsanna

After a lot of recent revelations regarding the use of limited companies in the public sector, it is likely that the chancellor, George Osborne, will mention them in the upcoming budget. Experts hope that the Chancellor will use the opportunity to clarify the current legitimacy of such tax-efficient structures.

Kate Cottrell of Bauer & Cottrell said: “From an IR35 perspective it is usual to ‘announce’ nothing much. But this year there may be something in the [Budget’s supporting] documents about addressing the recent personal service company issue in the public sector.” Continue reading →

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Interim Managers Performing Well In UK Market

Posted on March 16, 2012 by icsjonathan

Despite reports this week that the demand for temporary workers has fallen across the country, certain sectors and regions are still performing well. Industry body the Interim Management Association (IMA), have also reported that the UK’s top interim managers have performed well over the last five years.

A recent survey conducted on behalf of the IMA found that business generated by top interim managers in the UK has grown by 93% since 2006; increasing from £102 million to £196 million. It also found that the average length of assignment for interim managers has risen from 108 days in 2006, to 166 days in 2011. Continue reading →

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REC Publish First Regional Report On Jobs

Posted on March 15, 2012 by icsjonathan

Following positive news for specific sectors, including IT and Engineering, in the latest UK report, the REC have announced their first ever regional report on jobs. The REC will produce reports based on market trends across the Midlands, the North and South of England, and London.

These reports will be directly comparable to the full UK report on jobs, and the REC hope that local market trends will help support employment initiatives. Director of Policy Tom Hadley said that they are seeing high demand for skilled workers across all regions, with sectors such as IT and engineering performing well. Continue reading →

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